Digging Up Daffodils

Some of the daffodils dug up from a neighbor's house. My friend Tom has the other half.

Gardening friends have told me over the years it's not possible to dig up daffodils to replant. I enthusiastically beg to differ. With the help of a number of pairs of good gardening gloves, I have done so several times in my gardening lifetime, leaving my one-acre hill side garden a spring "Daffodil-land" according to one of my neighbors.

Best Time to Dig Up Daffodils

Although I prefer to dig up daffodil bulbs after they have bloomed, I won't pass up a batch if they still have flowers. It helps to know what the bulbs are as I re-plant them.

How to Keep Bulb Varieties Together

When no flowers are in bloom, I wrap twine or a vine around the bundle of bulbs so at least I know that grouping is the same variety.

Bulb bundles with loose bulbs go into plastic bags so I can keep the whole grouping together. Nice way to recycle those bags, too.

Transplant Whole Soil Clump

If the soil is soft enough, I dig up the whole clump to separate later. Some of those bulbs still in a soil clump will continue to bloom once moved, especially if they are planted right before a slow spring rain.

It may take one season for the bulbs to settle before they bloom again but they are well worth the wait.

Charlotte